Eternal Blossoming Warrior
by ExoticOnyx
Summary: "I've always been different. Always been judged by my appearance. But on that night, that night he took the only thing that made my life worth living for. It was all gone in a instant. My mother use to call me a warrior. She said my eyes portrayed encouraging messages. And now, I carry hate in my heart; with a mind flooded with vengeance. And I promised him, I will avenge them!"


**Eternal Blossoming Warrior**

**Volume 1 of 3**

_24 Years Earlier_...

Little Aiyana jumped, pranced and giggled in happiness on top of her bed; apparently the young human child had been too hyper for sleep to blissfully place her under their care. As she jumped and laughed in her own amusement, she hadn't heard her disabled grandmother creep her aching, elderly body into her room. Smiling at her granddaughter's happiness, Grandmother Jolon tucked the head of her cane under her armpit, before clapping her hands to get the eight-year-old girl's attention.

"Alright, Aiya, it's time for bed."

Jumping with her legs under her, she giggled and yelped with utter excitement, "I can't, you have to sit next to me and tuck me in for me to go to bed!" She exclaimed in a rush due to her fast paced breathing. Grandmother Jolon could barely stand properly in her current spot, let alone make a grab for her to hyper down.

"Now, young Aiya, you know grandmother can't function as well as she had before, you must calm down now." Just then, two more children ran into the room screaming and laughing before tackling Aiyana. She laughed, and wrestled with her younger sister, Leyti, and her older brother, Chesmu. As if the small run-down room hadn't been crammed enough, especially with over excitement, Jacy and Sean Pallaton stood in the doorway. Grandmother Jolon turned her fragile body slightly in the parents direction, "Could use a little help, you know?"

Jacy chuckled aloud, before entering the small room, while Sean gripped his mother-in-laws arm firmly, before helping her to her own room.

"Okay children! Play time is over." Jacy spoke with much authority. In unison, the children stopped their bouncing to fall into a sitting position, obediently. "Much better," Jacy said.

"Mother, can we sleep with you and father tonight?" Leyti asked. Jacy glanced over her youngest daughter who looked so much like her father, straight and long dirty blonde hair, fair skin, and almond shaped ocean blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, baby, not tonight." Jacy said pulling the rugged sheets back as each child slid underneath.

"What about to kiss grandmother goodnight?" Chesmu asked soon after. She observed her twin; Icy blue almond shaped eyes, straight platinum blonde hair, and partially fair skin. Pulling the sheets up to their shoulders, she spoke peacefully, "Grandmother is really tired right now. The last thing she needs is to be awakened; you can kiss her in the morning."

"Will she be well rested in the morning?" Aiyana asked lastly. Grandmother Jolon may have passed down her features to Jacy, and Jacy may have passed her features to Chesmu; while her husband, Sean, passed down his features to Leyti; neither of them could say anything about Aiyana. She may have had Jacy and Sean's nose structure, or the length of their hands and feet, but she looked nothing like her parents. She had slanted pale green eyes, full lips, a dark olive complexion, and hair so dark and wavy -with hints of auburn reflecting off each strand- made her seem like an adopted child. Jacy kissed each of them on their foreheads, "I hope so," she stated before her little warriors closed their eyes.

_Meanwhile_...

Less than a mile away, a young human male stood within the confined shadows of the night, lusting for the vulnerability of helpless victims. It was when his comrades approached him that he predicted their next plan of attack. "Don't speak, just show me." He said before his peers. Nodding to his response, they lead him to a small run-down home in the middle of the woods, still well lit. The man now known as Don Sahem, smiled a viciously, insidious smile. "Perfect,"

As the house fell quiet, sleep had gently caressed the Pallaton family for nearly two hours, except little Aiyana. She could sleep peacefully, but she had this extremely unpleasant feeling creeping in her unsettling mind. Turning on her side slowly; not wanting to wake her sleeping brother or sister, she excused her body from the bed quietly. The family's home had been small, old, and creaky; practically abandoned in the deepest part of the forest -keeping intruders from their location. Aiyana had to be careful walking on the creaky floor boards to reach her desired destination. Luckily, with her eight years of experience, she studied which precise floor board(s) made just enough noise, which board made a minimum level of noise, and the few that was silent all throughout their home. Skipping merrily as if it were a playful game of hop scotch, she came close to her parent's room before sneaking a peek inside to see if they were unconscious. When no sounds of talking or movement came about, she diagonally jumped to each silent floor board until she peered her little head in front of her grandmother's; snores escaped her woman cave, revealing the answer of, '_Yes, everyone's sleep!'_

With ease, the young child gleefully swirled and jumped from floor board to floor board, making her way to the eating establishment room. With them being a poor, poverty stricken family, food was extremely limited. There was no such thing as nick picking the family bread just because, instead it was a rule of be happy for what you have and use it for good use. But Aiyana wanted no food at this hour; she just needed a sip of something warm to allow sleep to embrace her childish silhouette of a form.

"Maybe a small portion of milk should help me sleep?" She whispered aloud, unexpected. She reached for a small cup to pour an ounce or two within her clay structure of a cup, when a strand of her hair fell from its usual low pinned ponytail and over her shoulder. Noticing how different she was from her family lowered her self-esteem with beauty dramatically. Other students from school teased and picked on her, and even though she had the love and support of her family, she still felt like an outsider. Sighing aloud and tucking the strand of hair behind her ear, she replaced the milk in its usual spot before bringing her cup to her lips. Just as she was just about to take her first sip, she seen a shadowy figure of something walk past the open hole they called a window; then two more shadows followed in pursuit, and a fourth figure walked even closer by their so called "window". Aiyana let out a panicked gasp, as the harden clay cup fell from her hands and shattered on the floor. Frozen in fear, she heard them whisper something with their husky voices about a passage way into their home.

"No," Aiyana said quietly, as she skipped over the loudest floor board to one of the many support beams, observing the front intently. Her heart began to pick up speed as she watched them walk towards the entrance door of their home, and fidget with the door handle in order to unlock it. Fear possessed her small body, as she began to breathe aloud instead of inhaling and exhaling throughout her nose like normal. Her common sense began to resurface as the creaky door began to open; she walked swiftly, lightly padding against the non-creaking floor boards until she reached her siblings room. Upon entering, fear consumed her even more knowing that her parents and elderly grandmother were in other room sound asleep; frantically, she shook Chesmu.

"Chesmu, Chesmu! Please get up!" She spoke low and vigorously. He grunted loudly and Aiya shushed him.

"What's going on?" He questioned less loudly, but still too loud to Aiyana's standard.

"There are people here?! They are inside our home, and everyone else is sound asleep! I'm so scared, Chessy! We have to wake them, we have to leave!" She exclaimed, panicking, but keeping her voice below audible.

"Wait; slow down, Aiya, I don't get what you're trying to say? Mother and father said we are safe out here, nobody will get to us; you probably just had a nightmare; go back to sleep." Chesmu said using the "inside voice" level, apparently, the nine-year-old child had not fully awakened and seem completely oblivious to his sisters frightening message.

"Chesmu, I am telling you nothing more than pure facts, you have to believe me! We have to leave right now, please?!" Aiyana begged keeping her voice low. Chesmu, observed his sisters features, he noted the panic within her pale green eyes, and the gut wrenching fear that annihilated her face. It was then they heard the loud creaky floor boards near the entry of the house. It hadn't been just one creaky floor board, but several sounding off continuously as if many people were walking about. Chesmu's face dropped with fear.

"What was that? Please tell me that was mother and father, or even grandmother?" Chesmu questioned, finally lowering his voice in a breathless whisper. Just then they heard more boards creak while low voices unlike the voices they were used to hearing play around in the quiet atmosphere. Thinking rapidly, and panicked, Chesmu shook Leyti and whispered to her to not say a word when the child awoke, as Aiyana peeked her head through the door frame to see where they were. '_Four,_' she thought, counting the bodies roving inside the premises; while Chesmu quietly explained what was happening to the six-year-old Leyti. Her eyes grew wide and nearly filled with tears, "Hey, you have to be a big girl and be brave, okay? It's going to be fine." Chesmu said, as Leyti nodded her head in understanding.

"We have to wake everyone," Aiyana said to her brother, who nodded his head in acquiesce. "Follow my footsteps so we don't make any noise." With the plan in full motion, Aiya, walked from silent board to silent board, with her siblings following in an orderly fashion. They could hear the intruder's voices when they each discovered the broken clay cup in the kitchen. Moving quickly not to be spotted, the children safely made it to their parent's room across the hall.

"Mother, Father! You have to get up, we must leave right now!" The three children exclaimed, petrified but speaking quietly as they shook the parents.

"Hey, hey, hey; calm down please! Why aren't you three in bed, it's late?" Sean questioned with a sleepy voice.

"Please, we have to get grandmother and leave, they're bad people here!" Leyti cried, with fearful tears slowly falling down her fair cheeks.

"What are you talking about?" Jacy asked eyeing each of them with narrow eyes, as she sat up supporting her body with one arm bent.

"There are four big men here; they are walking around inside our home!" Aiyana said quietly.

"What?" Sean questioned again, raising his voice slightly.

"Please, you both must keep your voices down!" Chesmu stated fearfully, but not as loud as his father.

"What have I told you three before about our safety ratings here?" Sean asked, still not keeping his voice down. He didn't allow the children to speak, as he continued his audible ranting. "I don't know if one of you had a nightmare or if this is just some sort of game. Whatever it is, it will stop right here and right now..." Chesmu and Aiyana tried to reason with their father, as young Leyti sobbed silently to herself. "Stop, look at what you two are doing to Ley-Ley!" Sean said firmly, everyone stared to glance at Leyti who tried to pull herself together. "I told you two about scaring your sister with your crazy assumptions, now back to bed, each of you!" Sean demanded.

"I hope you two didn't plan this to try and sleep in here?" Jacy questioned the older two.

"No, we didn't..." Aiyana and Chesmu tried to explain.

_But then_,

A loud, painful scream shot throughout the home of the Pallaton family, a scream that could come from no other than...

"Mother," Jacy questioned herself, trying to decipher mentally if it had been her mother's scream. Each of the children jumped into the bed, and hid behind their mother shivering, while Sean jumped from the bed to scoop the scene. Not making it farther than the door frame, something strong and blunt hit Sean in the head causing him to grunt and fall to the floor. Everyone screamed as Jacy gripped her children. A small surge of light from a fresh lit lantern caused an amber glow in the darkness, shining light on a tall lean, yet muscular man with a piercing dark gaze.

"Get in here now." the man stated firmly, with no hint of playfulness etched anywhere within his tone. Leyti began to sob a little more loudly, as she clung herself to her mother, Jacy shushed her youngest daughter who she carried in her arms out of the room, with Chesmu and Aiya following behind.

Once the four made it through the door frame, Jacy's hair was pulled causing her to yelp out in pain, as another man pulled Leyti from her mother's arms. "No!" Chesmu, Jacy, and Aiyana screamed out together. The lean man with the lantern, gripped Jacy's hair even more severely than he had before, and slammed her hard against the door frame; making her head hit the wood, causing some bleeding. Jacy screamed, and was thrown to the floor, with the man tying her hands together with some rope. "Mother," The three kids yelled out in fear, one of the other men who had more muscles, and just as tall as the one with the lantern, grabbed Chesmu and Aiyana. All three kids screamed, obviously in fear, the man who took Leyti shook her before screaming at her to shut up. He was short and very skinny with a voice that was too deep for his figure. With Leyti calming her emotions, the fourth man walked from the hallway to where the commotions lay, he was medium height, with a medium build, and his features were sinister and diabolical.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He stated firmly with a devious smirk slapped on his face.

"A simple ordinary family here, boss. What should we do with the adults?" The man standing next to Jacy asked.

"Hmm?" said the boss. He walked over to the laid out elderly woman who had been pulled from her room and thrown on the floor, breathing raspy. With her current health and body issues, she still managed to stay alive even with a thick butcher knife jammed into her chest. '_Grandmother_,' Aiyana thought fearfully. The boss of the criminals crouched next to Grandmother Jolon, "Can you hear me," he questioned. Grandmother Jolon could not respond as she tried to concentrate on her breathing. "How are you still alive being as old and disabled as you are?" He asked again; still receiving no response. "You know, when my grandmother was greatly ill kids..." He said this time directing himself to the children, "I couldn't stand the fact that she was hurting so bad. Instead, I took the liberty of putting her down myself." He pulled out a gun, Aiya couldn't figure out what kind of gun it was, the only thing she observed was how dazed this man looked with his evil pale blue eyes as he stared at his weapon. Like his mind was somewhere else, reminiscing the past life of his crimes. When he snapped back to reality his evil smirk reappeared, before he looked back at the barely alive Jolon. "Let me formally introduce myself, my name is Don Sahem; it would be extremely rude not to know the last person you will ever see... Just like my grandmother."

"STOP," The children screamed completely aware of Don's next move, jerking and fighting for release to break free from their prisoners grip. In an instant of it being said, Don aimed his gun at Jolon's head, firing it off immediately.

The only sound that rang around their home was screams from the children and laughter coming from the four men. "You monsters..." said two voices full of despair and ire. Many eyes located the source of the voices. Jacy tilted her head up with teary eyes of rage, not far from the wife of the Pallaton family was the husband, slowly recuperating through the intense head injury, with deadly eyes glowering at Don. Suddenly Don appeared enraged, "Would one of you morons explain to me why the man of the household isn't bounded in rope?"

"Oh, I forgot about him," said the man next to Jacy. Before Don had a chance to chastise his criminal brethren, Jacy threw her weak body towards the mid-section of her capture, until he grunted and tumbled over holding his mid-section. She threw her injured head upward to head butt her capture in the mouth and his nose, easily causing more of a bloody mess to her platinum blonde hair. The other two captures tried to toss the children aside, but even the children were becoming bold and defiant. Leyti scratched and clawed at the man's face that held her, while Aiyana and Chesmu kicked and bit at their capture. Don, now seeing nothing but rage, aimed his weapon at Jacy ready to fire at that moment, until several floor boards creaked from the weight of someone's heavy physic pressing hard onto them in what was a rushing/running motion. Instantaneously, Don was picked up, hurled, and slammed into a wall not far from the others by a very angry Sean. Sean gripped Don's wrist, and the two of them tussled to keep/take away the gun from the other.

Jacy rolled to her back, and used her legs to pick her body off the ground before kicking her culprit in the face. Even though the pain was severe, she allowed the thick, scratchy rope to cut against her wrists as she attempted to remove them. Once free, the other two men who held her children, slapped, threw, and punched each of them, before drawing their blades. Jacy took her captures weapon; which was a crowbar, and sprinted towards the first man who held Aiyana and Chesmu, ramming the end of the crowbar through the man's skull, making him fall with a loud thud. With the opposite capture that held Leyti a moment ago took note of his partners attack, he turned from Leyti, to Jacy and aimed his blade at the wife.

With a battle cry, the man swung his weapon at Jacy who ducked just in the nick of time, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike him. As if swinging a bat with powerful force, she hit him in both knees with the base of the crowbar with as much strength as she could muster. "AHH," He screamed falling to his injured knees. Just then, Jacy drew back to usher an even more powerful strike to this man's throat. Gripping his throat from the impact, Jacy then swung repeatedly, aiming where ever possible just to make sure this man will never again see the light of day. Crimson liquid splattered, squirted, and sprayed everywhere, covering Jacy from head to toe; it was when she felt the adrenaline to survive die, she stopped her merciless attack.

Sean jabbed Don in his right jaw, only to receive a blow nearby his temple. With the unexpected hit, Sean stumbled a bit, loosening his grip on Don's wrist; Don then elbowed Sean in the nose making him fall back. Aiming the gun at Sean, and pulling the trigger, Sean slapped his hand away when Don fired the gun, making him miss and shoot the wall. With a strong hook from Sean, Don flew back right onto a broken rail piece; the rail, itself, impaled Don, sliding into his side, breaking some ribs and revealing the broken piece of the rail from the front. Swearing and screaming in pain, Don withered and moved to extract the rail piece that jammed into him. Sean shook his head to ignore the fog that was blinding his vision, the only thing he could see, somewhat, was Don aiming the gun once more and firing. Sean didn't know if Don was just awful at shooting, or if the pain inflicted from his injuries or wound caused him to aim wildly, but evidently, he missed Sean. It was the sound of his children screaming at the top of their lungs that made him realize that the bullet wasn't intended for him.

Turning to see the cause of their screams, his ocean blue eyes observed the gruesome scene behind him. There lied the crimson image of his soul mate, gasping in air as she lay on her side; a bullet wound planted firmly within the vital spot of her neck. As she tried to collect air, the red liquid leaked out in large pints from her open wound. No longer able to hold on, her icy blue eyes remained open, but the life within them, had vanished in an instant.

"JACY," Sean screamed. Sean heard the movement of the gun, just as he turned around to face his opponent. Don fired his weapon at Sean, making sure he did not miss this shot. Sean fell with a thud; a bullet wound creating an imperfect circle in the middle of his head; the sanguine liquid seeping endlessly from his skull, and just as his wife, the light of life whisked from his eyes.

"Mother, Father!" The kids screamed. As Don, successfully removed himself from his "imprisonment", the man who tied Jacy and the one who held Aiyana and Chesmu, slowly recuperated and made an attempt to grab the children.

"SHUT IT!" Don screamed, approaching them with a limp in his walk, suppressing his injury with his applied pressure, and his gun aimed at each child. "This was supposed to be my relief to calm this monster, and yet you little rats including your pathetic mother, father and grandmother, had to make this more complicated than intended!"

Sobbing silently from the loss of their grandmother, mother, and father within the same night, and possibly the same hour, the three children observed and stared at the gruesome scene displayed before them. With his remaining two henchmen moving slowly due to their extreme discomfort, they angrily gripped the wrists of each child and tied them together. Don's evil eyes focused on the now deceased body of Hunter Gavin; his smallest, most admirable comrade of the group. Now he was left with the one who watched over Jacy, known as Peter Dumas, and the one who watched the girl and the boy who looked nothing alike, Mark Bradford. '_Grr, why is it that when death cradles my group members, the only remaining survivors are the amateurs?!'_ Frustrated beyond all recognition, and in urgent need of medical attention, Don's pale blue eyes of death seem to come to a satisfied conclusion.

Taking pain stricken steps towards the five remaining people within the home -aside from his person-, Don stopped Mark from binding the boy, with a flick of his wrist.

"You, young man, come forth." Don demanded with his deep, stern voice. The youngest girl looked to her eldest sibling with fearful, teary eyes, while the odd ball of the family had tears in her eyes, but a strong, dominating, yet questioning look within hers. On his knees, the young boy shook his head slowly, as if mentally deciding whether doing the rebellious gesture would result in something awful afterwards. Not use to such atrocity happening all at once, ire seethed throughout the paleness of Don's deathly eyes. Reaching out in such a rapid state, he pulled on the hair of the young boy, causing him to scream, and the sisters jumped and screamed to try to assist their brother. With his henchmen bidding by their rules, they pulled the ropes on the girls, keeping them mildly jumping in one location.

"YOU LITTLE BRATS, SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!" Don screamed with such fury that everyone ceased all movement, even though Don tried not to notice, he couldn't help but notice the little odd balls eyes again. Maybe it was what she'd seen that night, or if she was just fearfully strong, but the paleness of her eyes showed the terrified, grief of her lost family, while the green color of her eyes showed no fear, but strength that would never falter. Although the sight of those curious pale green eyes intrigued him, it also taunted him, making it seem like the strength within the green eyes would never die, nor fade even if he took her life. '_I'll kill her first,_' Don thought.

Releasing the hair of the boy, Don quickly placed his hand back at his injury. With evil eyes, he began to question the child in a normal voice, "If you had the opportunity to kill anyone of us for taking the lives of your family, would you?"

Questioning icy blue eyes stared at Don; clearly the child could not answer the question. Frustration slowly emerged in Don's eyes, "What if it was a life-for-a-life situation? For example," Don said. He swiftly took the boy's hand, placed the gun in it, turned him to face the four behind them, and held the child's hand in his with the weapon aimed at his comrades, Peter and Mark.

Fear flooded Don's henchmen's eyes, as they let go of the girls, and placed their hands up slowly, surrendering. "Don, what are you doing," Mark questioned, but was cut off quickly when Don controlled Chesmu's hand to fire the gun at Mark's right shoulder. Screaming from the burning pain, the girls tried to scoot farther from the incident next to them. Chesmu's eyes open in fear, "Why would you make me do that, he was your partner?!" Chesmu practically screamed.

Unresponsive, Don flung their joined hands to Peter; the shocking fear on his face made it seem like he would urinate on his self in an instant. "These two hooligans couldn't pull off a simple break in, and assist me in killing off a family; they don't deserve to live." Don said bluntly. As he stated his comment, Aiyana could see the distance in his eyes, like as if he was a gone from this world; as if his current and recent actions were blindsided with something else controlling him. '_This man is crazy,_' she thought.

"I will say this one last time, boy. If you had the opportunity to kill any one of us for taking the lives of your family, would you?" Don questioned Chesmu in a mild, I'm-not-playing tone. Chesmu was basically stuck, yes, he was quivering with emotions, anger at the most, due to the death of his family; but would he have it in his heart to kill someone right now?

With Chesmu's debatable mind, Don's already low patience was wearing so thin it practically disappeared. "Dammit, boy, if you don't choose in three seconds a yes or no answer," Don swung their weapon and aimed it right at Aiyana. "Then you and I will kill her both!" Raising his voice a bit, Don began the countdown.

"One," Chesmu was freaking out, '_I can't do this, I can't do this, I just can't do this! But Aiyana, and Leyti! He never said he would save them if I killed his friends, then again I can't kill them anyway, I know I can't!_' Chesmu's mind screamed.

"Two," Don said, clicking the gun to load the next bullet. Chesmu looked at Leyti, the fear brought more tears to her eyes, and she would have been wailing loudly if Don would not have been there. Then he took sight of Aiyana's eyes; something about them seemed uniquely different then the eyes he's seen countless of times before. They were quite fearful indeed; in a genetic comparison it was the same paleness they saw in their mother's icy blue eyes. While the green color of her eyes alone showed no signs of fear, instead they radiated their strong intensity, and unwavering strength, just like their father's eyes. There was something about her eyes that gave Chesmu the strength to speak.

Before Don said the next number, Chesmu lowered their weapon, "I can't do it, I can't kill anyone, I will not end up a murderer like you."

"Pathetic," was all Don said as their joined hands pulled the trigger at Aiyana.

Aiyana honestly expected to feel a strong small force slam into some part of her body, but all she felt was a passing breeze of something moving in front of her like a shield. Focusing her gaze on the image displayed before her, she seen her baby sister, Leyti, throw her small, petite body in the way of the impact, immediately taking the bullet for her older sister. "LEYTI," Chesmu and Aiyana screamed at the top of their lungs, Aiyana hovered over her sister's small body, unable to use her hands because of the rope. While Chesmu tried to break free from his imprisonment to check on his sister, Don's dominating hands didn't release his iron hold on Chesmu's hand. Tears fell rapidly from Aiyana and Chesmu; Leyti's breathing was short, and quick like it was hard trying to let it out, this let the two know he may have punctured a lung when the bullet inserted Leyti.

"You're okay, Ley-Ley, just keep breathing, it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay, you have to be okay!" Aiyana spoke sweetly, but fear caused her doubt.

"You ignorant buffoon, you were supposed to hold the child!" Don screamed at Peter. Suddenly Don and Chesmu's hand moved to Peter, firing the gun at his heart, killing him instantly. "I hate that I have to put up with you people!" He turned his gun, still clutching Chesmu's hand to Mark, and tried to fire, but no bullets would leave the chamber, showing that his gun was now empty. Screaming with anger and frustration, he tossed Chesmu aside, went to Mark with that same limp in his step and took a firm grip of his head. Mark who beg and pleaded to be spared, tried to push Don away from him, causing him to apply additional force to his earlier injury.

Don screamed, this time in pain and released Mark to catch his breath. Turning from Mark, to reload his gun, Mark tried to move as quickly as possible to get to Don, but his earlier injuries from Jacy and Don was slightly unbearable. Getting to his feet, he charged at Don to throw him down and retrieve his gun from him. But getting within at least a few feet from slamming into him, the gun was aimed at his head and fired immediately. The bullet entered Mark's skull, and his body fell; Don must have still been seeing red, because he fired four more shots into Mark's dead body.

Creaky floor boards sound off as Chesmu came at Don with an iron pipe, jamming it into his injury, before taking it and slamming it repeatedly against his head. Don fell dropping his weapon with a scream of agony, as Chesmu continued his rains of attacks. Fury inflamed Chesmu's eyes, as he screamed loudly, "YOU MADE ME KILL MY BABY SISTER!" Viciously in blind fury, he continued his assault on Don, who screamed and cringed to shield his body. In that moment, somehow the sound of a gun went off again. Chesmu's eyes bulged out of his head, as he looked down at his stomach where the bullet entered him; his attacks stopped mid-way, as Don somehow managed to grapple his weapon and fire. Another shot emerged from the gun at Chesmu's head, before he fell backwards with a thud, and the image of his life fled from his eyes just like their mother.

Aiyana screamed, dropping her head on her sisters lifeless body; throughout the fight between Don and his now dead friend, Leyti took her last breath taking in the eyes of Chesmu and Aiyana before her passing. Chesmu's eye's blazed with anger, and without notice, he went to anything blunt nearby and attacked Don. Aiyana was just stunned, everything, everyone she loved was now gone, Chesmu, Leyti, Grandmother, Mother and Father. Balling her eyes out on her sisters cool body, she began to wish she had just followed her instincts and leave home with her entire family, then none of this would've happened.

She heard him grunt... She heard the floor boards as he grew closer... She heard the clicking of the gun setting for load. She didn't care at this point; let it all end, everything -almost seemingly too eager to join her family in the Ascension afterlife.

But nothing happened. The sound of another empty gun rang around the house, growling and throwing the gun away from them, he spoke then, "Why is it that I cannot kill you," it wasn't a question, but Aiyana did lift her head at that moment. Two deathly eyes glared back and forth at each other, but Don's eyes faltered a bit with slight fear. Those damned eyes of hers still held fear, but overpowering strength, rage and hatred; he just wanted to break her, kill that strengthening spirit within those eyes. Shockingly, he was quite fearful of those eyes, they held such determination, so much will, so much of everything positive, even with the fear still lingering within them. "I would give up everything just to destroy the power within your eyes," Don admitted with so much truth it was like he practically begged for it.

"And I want you to mark my words, you can do everything in your power to destroy me, kill me, or even torture me, I will come for you some day, even in death and kill you myself." Something about those words seems to sink within Don's head because a fearful chill shot down his spine. Shaking it off mentally, he put on his sinister smile and picked up a nearby blade, along with the crowbar.

"Heh, I'm looking forward to it, odd ball, but as for now," He slammed the crowbar down hard on her head, making her scream and drop her head on her sister's body. Picking her up by the collar of her sleeping attire, he strangled her and slammed her body against the hard, creaky floor boards, making that certain red liquid fall from her lips. Hovering over her body, gripping her dark auburn hair and placing the blade against her throat, he finished his earlier sentence, "I'm going to enjoy watching that spirit of yours shatter, and to see the life drain from your eyes."

**Epilogue**

Wandering throughout the forest aimlessly trying to find a nearby town, Tamara, the Human alchemist was somewhat lost trying to get through the forest area. "What's that smell?" She questioned, as her traveling horse shook its head, and stomped its hooves twice in the ground. Following the stench of something burning, she stumbled onto burning flames of an old home, "BY THE OLD KINGS!" She screamed, jumping from her horse and moving towards the flames. "What in the name of the old kings happened here?!" She exclaimed, frantically searching for any bodies that maybe injured. Stopping more than mere feet from the explosive flames was a body. Running towards the helpless body, she hovered over a small fragile body of a girl with long waves of extremely dark auburn hair, and a slightly dark complexion. She had multiple stab wounds all over her body, but one really grabbed Tamara's eyes, was the one that slid viciously across her throat, causing excessive bleeding. As if that had been the only scary image, the scariest image of them all was the massive crimson liquid drenching her lower sleeping attire.

"You poor child, if you can hear me make some kind of movement, or open your eyes." Tamara asked. It took a moment, but in time her fingers twitched, and her eyes flickered under her eyelids. "Oh thank the Kings, she's still conscious!" Tamara exclaimed, she ran to her horse, pulling out ingredients after ingredients, until she found what she was looking for to create a healing potion, even if it was the smallest work of healing it didn't matter. Running to the girl with her equipment, she quickly created her intended potion, and spoke sweetly to her.

"You're going to be okay, young one, I may not know much, but I'm going to take good care of you." When she finished her minor healing potion, she applied it to her throat, and watched as the healing potion slowly close her wound. She grunted, and trembled from the pain, but Tamara persistently kept at her work until it was finished, and all that remained was a scabby, bubbly, cut across her throat. "This will keep it closed but only slightly, there will still be some bleeding afterwards. Unfortunately child, I'm no medic, thankfully, I know of one and I will take you to her."

Tamara gripped the body of the young girl, and even though she grunted in pain, it didn't stop Tamara from helping. "I need you to try and speak a little while that medicine is still in effect, can you open your eyes, and tell me your name?" Tamara slung the arm of the girl over her shoulder, even though it took a moment for her to move, she still made the child walk over to her horse. Tamara noted the red liquid oozing and slowly falling from her throat injury, the thick open wound over the arch of her left eyebrow, and other body parts. Slight tears welled within Tamara's eyes, this child is nearly dead, and with each step her body grew colder and colder. Tamara tried to remain strong though, talking to the young child until she was able to get her to and on her horse.

Leaving the fiery scene behind them as Tamara led her horse through the woods to the town she was looking for; she heard some mumbling coming from her passenger.

"What was that, love," Tamara asked, hurrying her horse in a way that was easy but swift due to the proposition of the little girl.

Suddenly, all answers that Tamara had of the girl came at her full force when the girl opened her eyes and stared at her. Her fiery, yet fearful pale green eyes blazed and a story of torment, rage, and death flooded her vision. Even though she was near death, she had so much strength and determination in her eyes that Tamara knew if it took the both of them hours to get to town, this little girl wasn't dying tonight.

"I said... My name is Aiyana... Aiyana Pallaton."

**To Be Concluded in Volume 2...**


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